Fire crews save woman from icy White River

IFD Captain Casey Sweeney hands off a woman who apparently jumped off the 16th Street bridge into the White River. The woman was then taken to Eskenazi Health on Monday, January 20, 2014. (Photo: Matt Detrich / The Star)

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IFD diver Scott French (left) hands off a woman who apparently jumped off the 16th Street bridge into the White River to Capt. Casey Sweeney. She was then taken to Eskenazi Health on Monday.
(Photo: Matt Detrich / The Star)

Water rescues in Indianapolis are rare; they are rarer still in an ice-covered river.

Rescuers from the Indianapolis Fire Department faced just that challenge on Monday when a woman plunged into the frigid White River from the bridge at West 16th Street, just east of Lafayette Road.

Divers Scott French and Casey Sweeney got the call at their Near-Northside station about 10 a.m. as they were preparing for their daily workout.

When they arrived at the bridge, several rescue attempts had been made. First responders had tried to pull the woman to shore. Fire crews had thrown her a rope, but she couldn't reach it, Sweeney said. They also tried to get to her via a rescue boat but the boat ramp had not been cleared of snow. The woman had tried to swim to shore but ice blocked her way.

Indianapolis Fire Department divers responded to an incident involving a woman who apparently fell from a bridge and onto the ice-covered White River.
Matt Detrich/The Star

French went in, swimming under water, his first mission simply to reach the woman and keep her conscious. She was about 40 feet from shore clinging to a slab of ice, wearing a black zip-up coat with a hood, pants and shoes.

"I said, 'What's your name?' She said her name, but I can't remember," French said. "She said she's going to die. I assured her that was not going to happen."

He said he asked her how she got in the water. She told him she jumped. He asked her why, but she stopped responding. French kept talking.

"Just small talk, more or less," he said, "to try to keep her mind off her present condition."

They waited for Sweeney, who swam from the other side of the river, hacking ice along the way, so the crew on shore could pull them out quickly. The ice was thin near the shore, but it got thicker — up to 6 inches — further into the river. The water temperature was estimated at 40 degrees. Sweeney said he had to get on top of an ice block to break it.

The two divers swam back to shore with the woman in tow. She laid on top of Sweeney as French hacked ice to clear the way. She was not moving, Sweeney said. Her eyes were open, but they were not blinking.

"When we got her to the shore, I saw her eyes move, which was good sign," Sweeney said. "And her head moved slightly."

The rescue, from when the divers arrived to when they brought the woman to shore, took 17 minutes, Sweeney said.

Water rescues are challenging, Sweeney said, especially in cold weather. Cold temperatures typically cause gears and masks to freeze and headphones to malfunction, making it harder to communicate with the rescue team on shore.

Sweeney added that rescues such as the one Monday would not have been possible without the on-shore crews.

"They're the steering wheel for us," Sweeney said. "We just jump in, and they tell us whether to go right, left or straight."

The woman, who has not been identified, was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital in serious condition for treatment of hypothermia. Her body temperature, Sweeney said, was about 2 degrees below normal.

Sweeney and French said those who come out of cold-water rescues have a high success of surviving.

"Being in cold weather actually helped her out," Sweeney said. "Her heart was still working and her blood was still flowing."